With books, props and many giggles, a handful of volunteers and dozens of young readers recently helped us close out our Education Quarter and celebrate the success of the second United Way Children’s Book Drive.

The Story Squad – volunteers from Landscape Forms, Kellogg Community Credit Union, CSM Group, Rose Street Advisors and Aspiring Leaders United – visited kindergartners and first graders at Comstock North Elementary and Dudley Elementary. They shared their own love of books and read stories in small groups. After the readings, each child received a book to take home.

“Story Squad was a great way to distribute some of the books from the Book Drive, connect community volunteers with students and celebrate the generosity of our region,” said Natalie Saucedo, Corporate Partnerships Associate at United Way BCKR.

Hundreds of community members, corporate partners and volunteers came together in August to collect, sort, package and distribute nearly 9,000 books during the United Way Children’s Book Drive. More are due to arrive this month. The books have been used to restock classroom libraries, supply out-of-school programs, and benefit children at many other community agencies.

Just 30 percent of third graders in our region are proficient readers, a factor that negatively affects graduation rates. Early grade reading is one strategy United Way employs in our long-term goal of improving those rates.

The students at Comstock North and Dudley were thrilled to receive books of their own. At Dudley, one of the groups excitedly asked their guest reader – dressed as Cat in the Hat – to sign their books.

“Reading to the children was so amazing and enlightening,” said Charlotte Smith, a volunteer from Kellogg Community Credit Union. “It was so great to see their curious faces, so excited and hungry to read. This program is needed and very beneficial to the children and volunteers.”

Thank you to all who participated in this year’s United Way Children’s Book Drive, and to our sponsors: CSM Group, Kellogg Community Credit Union, Landscape Forms, Two Men and a Truck and Townsquare Media.